bowline

B3O1W4L1I1N1E1
UK/ˈbəʊlɪn/US/ˈboʊlɪn/

noun

A rope fastened near the middle of the leech or perpendicular edge of the square sails.

Similar
bowline knot
OriginMiddle English bouline →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounbowline (plural bowlines)

plural bowlines

  1. nauticalA rope fastened near the middle of the leech or perpendicular edge of the square sails.
  2. nauticalA knot tied so as to produce an eye or loop in the end of a rope that will not slip or jam.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna loop knot that neither slips nor jams

Similar
bowline knot
Broader
loop knot

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishbouline
  2. Englishbowline

From Middle English bouline, bawelyne.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech dračí smyčka
  • dračí smyčkaknot
Danish pælestik
  • pælestikknot
Finnish paalusolmu
  • paalusolmuknot
French bouline, nœud de chaise
  • boulineknot
  • nœud de chaiseknot
German Palstek, Bulin
  • Palstekknot
  • Bulinknot
Hebrew קֶשֶׁר הַצָּלָה
  • קֶשֶׁר הַצָּלָה (kesher hatsalah)knot
Italian bolina
  • bolinaknot
Portuguese lais de guia
  • lais de guiaknot
Russian бесе́дочный у́зел
  • бесе́дочный у́зел (besédočnyj úzel)knot
Spanish as de guía, bolina
  • as de guíaknot
  • bolinaknot
Swedish pålstek
  • pålstekknot
Turkish izbarço bağı
  • izbarço bağıknot
Cite this entry
APA

bowline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowline

MLA

“bowline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowline. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bowline,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowline.

Source: bowline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.